Newly trained EMPD officers without contracts
In a media statement received from the DA it was stated "it is a disgrace that 144 newly-trained police officers are sitting around doing nothing".
According to Mary Goby, DA shadow MMC for community safety in Ekurhuleni, it is an absolute disgrace that once again, public money is being wasted and at the same time crime is out of control.
It has come to their attention that these police officers are still sitting around at the centre where they were trained because the metro has failed to get their contracts ready for them to start work.
She says the metro has a responsibility to keep its residents safe over the festive period and the 144 new Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) recruits due to start on December 1 would have alleviated some of the pressure from the various precincts.
Given that these new recruits graduated at the end of September, it is unacceptable that the metro’s human resources department has not yet issued them with contracts over two months later.
While they are failing residents dismally every day by making their homes vulnerable during load-shedding, it only makes matters worse that the metro will not have these extra boots on the ground during the holiday period.
“The delay does nothing to boost morale among the ranks of the officers in the EMPD and we demand that these contracts are signed before the department closes for the festive season.”
The DA has experienced first-hand the total incompetence that affects the recruitment process in the metro.
“In the latest instance in which we have been trying to appoint a research officer, it became apparent that the hold-up was emanating from the office of the city manager, Khaya Ngema.”
She says, “This is yet another example of our contention that the fish rots from the top down and we can only speculate that the problem with the EMPD contracts is that they have not yet been signed off by the city manager.”
